


Restart

by popnographic



Series: SouHaru drabbles [1]
Category: Free!
Genre: Angst, Drabble Collection, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fluff, M/M, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-07
Updated: 2015-06-21
Packaged: 2018-03-16 16:27:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3495107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/popnographic/pseuds/popnographic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Souharu drabbles! I just really love these two and I needed something that wasn't Sousuke forcing himself onto Haru or being physically abusive. They deserve happiness, come on!</p><p>Drabbles will be set in a sort-of post-Eternal Summer AU where Haru hasn't gone to Tokyo and stayed in Iwatobi instead. Probably (secretly) too big of a sap to leave his hometown, anyway.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Clean slate

**Author's Note:**

> First three drabbles are rated G (or T if you count Sousuke's foul mouth as not-child-friendly), fourth one is _smut_ , so that's why the rating is Explicit nowadays.

It’s a typical Sunday just before noon, and Haru’s doing his routine of cooking himself mackerel with rice, miso and various vegetables. Makoto always whines about how monotone his diet is, and how he really should change it, but Haruka doesn’t see why he should. It’s providing him with exactly what he needs to eat healthy, and mackerel’s his favourite.

He and Makoto don’t usually spend their Sundays together, as Sundays are “family days” at the Tachibana household, and while he’s been invited to join them, Haruka doesn’t feel like he quite fits in with them. Despite having known Makoto since they were very young, Haruka barging in on their precious family time just seems inappropriate.

So it does surprise him when the doorbell rings as he’s checking the flavour of his miso. The other members of his former team probably wouldn’t visit him without letting him know beforehand. Well, Nagisa _might_ , but Haruka thinks the blond little whirlwind wouldn’t get up this early just to come bother him.

Haruka puts down his tasting saucer on the counter before leaving the kitchenette. He doesn’t bother taking his apron off, even if it might be considered inappropriate to greet guests wearing one. It’s probably no one special, anyway, so he doesn’t see the need to remove it.

When he opens the door, the person standing in front of him wasn’t even on the list of people least likely to ever stand on his doorstep. Haruka just found it far too implausible of an option, but now that the tall, dark-haired man’s standing right in front of him, he figures he should’ve just put him on the list for the hell of it.

“Hey”, the man greets him, and Haruka regards him for a bit, as if to check if this is a joke.

“Yamazaki”, he replies flatly. “What are you doing here?”

Yamazaki Sousuke looks down at him for a few seconds, but soon averts his gaze. “Came to talk. Hope you aren’t too busy.”

Haru casts a look over his shoulder to make sure nothing’s boiling over on the stovetop. He shrugs. “Making lunch. Do you want some?”

Sousuke looks at him like he’s suddenly grown a third nostril, but soon regains his stoic expression. “Sure… that’d be great, actually.”

Letting his unexpected guest in, Haruka tells Sousuke to make himself at home and sit by the futon while he’s finishing up in the kitchen. Being a bit of a neat-freak, Haru never really has to worry about his house not being untidy for bringing in guests, so it doesn’t even cross his mind as he discreetly watches Sousuke sit down on one of the pillows.

While he pours miso into two bowls and scoops rice into two separate ones, he’s pondering over what Sousuke could possibly have come to talk to him about. Their previous encounters have been anything but friendly, and Haruka suspects that this particular meet might end up the same way.

Haru returns to the living room with a tray of their breakfast food. He places the bowls and plates out before mumbling “hope it’s okay”, and Sousuke merely nods in response.

“Thanks”, he says, and Haruka finds it so odd to hear him be _polite_. He’s starting to think that what Sousuke’s come over for might not be an argument but something entirely different. It’s far too soon to be making assumptions, though, so Haru still stays on his guard.

The two of them eat in silence, not even bothering to turn on the TV. Haru’s pretty much always been confident in his cooking, and isn’t surprised that this time wasn’t a failure, either. Makoto tends to complain that his mackerel is too salty at times, but Haru’s used to it and likes it a bit more salty than normal. Maybe it’s because of how much time he spends in the water, and he needs the salt for compensation or something.

Finishing up his rice and meal altogether, Haru puts down his bowl and crosses his legs under the kotatsu table, waiting for his unexpected guest to finish eating. He discreetly peers at Sousuke and once again tries to decode what the hell he’s doing in Haru’s house. The two of them don’t really have anything in common besides Rin… maybe that’s it? Maybe something’s happened to Rin?

Sousuke finally finishes eating, and thanks Haru for the meal, further confusing Haru with his politeness.

“Listen, I came to… sorta make peace. With you, I mean”, Sousuke begins. “This whole thing with me despising you is just dumb. I mean, I know you’re important to Rin, and while I didn’t understand why before… I do now. He told me a bit about you, and how you’re not really indifferent to all these things you’ve got going for you. I know you can’t help having all of that talent, and… I guess it’s only natural for you not knowing really what to do with it. Well, I came to realise that just recently, after Rin chewed me out about it.”

Haru listens to Sousuke with amazement that he’s pretty sure he’s not hiding too well. He was right in thinking it had something to do with _somehow_ , but never in his wildest dreams would he have thought about Sousuke wanting to make peace.

“Why now, of all times?” Haru has to ask, and Sousuke nods once, closing his eyes.

“I guess I’ve matured to the point where I’m willing to do it. Get over all of this stupid shit, I mean. It's pointless now that I know more about everything, and I guess I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions in the first place. I was just jealous… I suppose.”

“Jealous? Of what?”

“Of you being Rin’s best friend. Of him constantly talking about you like you were the second coming of Christ. I always considered Rin to be my best friend, and I wanted it to be a mutual thing. And I… kinda blamed you for it. You had all of the things I was trying so hard to get, and you didn’t even have to try getting them. That’s why.”

Sousuke frowns and — Haru swears he’s detecting a faint blush — exhales a sigh of annoyance. “What I’m trying to say is that… well, I’m— I’m sorry. It was wrong of me to blame you for those things when you couldn’t really help it.”

Of all the things Haru’s been baffled by in the past, this wins by a landslide. His eyebrows rise in surprise, and he feels like his jaw dropped down onto his lap.

“Wow”, he says, and Sousuke shoots him a glare.

“What’s that supposed to mean? I just apologised for being a dick, and you—”

“No, I mean… I’m not… good with words”, Haruka explains. “But I accept your apology. I never understood why you hated me in the first place, but… I guess it’s a good thing you don’t anymore. Or am I wrong? Do you still hate me?”

Sousuke stares at him weirdly again, and Haru wonders if maybe he did grow a third nostril after all, considering the incredulous look he’s being given right now.

“I don’t hate you”, Sousuke responds. “That’s kinda why I came in the first place. To tell you that. And that I’m… sorry.”

Haruka realises that Sousuke’s pretty much as bad as him at talking about these things. The way Sousuke just barely putters out word by word, hesitantly, like he’s not sure if he’s speaking Japanese or spouting nonsense that no one could translate.

He can’t hold anything against the taller man, though. Makoto’s had to do most of the talking for him during their childhood and sometimes even nowadays, because Haru’s still not too good with communicating with others.

Maybe he’s got more in common with Yamazaki than he originally thought.

“Well, apology accepted”, Haruka says and gets up from his cushion on the floor. “I’ll take care of stuff in the kitchen. You want tea?”

“Ah, I’ll help”, Sousuke replies and gets up, too. Haru shakes his head.

“No, you’re a guest. Sit.”

“I hate having people do everything for me. Let me help you.”

“I said no—“

Sousuke grabs the tray from Haruka’s hands and promptly marches into the kitchenette. Haru hurries after him, expecting the other to yell at him within a few seconds.

“Why are you so bad at taking orders from people?” he says. “What’s so difficult with just being a guest? It has to be nice to just sit and—“

“You know what, no — it isn’t”, Sousuke bites back. “When I fucked up my shoulder and had to wear the stupid sling, people did everything for me. Since I’m right-handed, I was pretty much handicapped and couldn’t do jack shit on my own. I’m done with that. Okay?!”

 _Ah, there it is_ , Haru thinks to himself, wondering if maybe Makoto’s telepathic powers have transmitted to him somehow.

“Whatever you say”, Haruka mutters, leaning against the door frame and crossing his arms. “I still think it’s weird.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t care. You cooked me food and I’m going to repay the favour by taking care of the dishes. Don’t make such a big fuss about it.”

“Why so different all of a sudden?”

Haru’s curiosity suddenly knows no bounds, and his head is full of questions he’s probably going to fire off at Sousuke before he leaves. He might as well try since they’ve apparently signed a peace treaty, anyway.

“What, me?” Sousuke shrugs. “No idea. Like I said, maybe I’ve matured.”

 

* * *

 

 

Sousuke finishes doing the dishes and putting them on the rack, at which point Haru feels like it’s safe to once again enter the kitchenette. He still has to make tea, after all, even if Sousuke still hasn’t said if he wants any. Haru does, so he’ll at least make some for himself.

Haru reaches for the tea set in his cupboard and puts a kettle on the stove while Sousuke washes and wipes his hands. Silence has fallen between them, and the only thing Haru can hear now is the sound of his air conditioning unit humming out in the living room area.

“Hey, wait, what are you doing?” Sousuke asks when he’s apparently realised what Haru’s trying to do.

“Tea”, he replies simply. “Or do you not want any?”

“I thought I told you I’d help”, Sousuke growls. “Why are you so reluctant on letting me help you?”

“Answer my question”, Haruka counters, stubborn. He doesn’t _want_ help, can’t Sousuke take the hint? Sure, Haru’s thinking about what Sousuke just told him about being fed up with people constantly babying him because of his shoulder, but this is a very different situation. It isn’t about Haruka helping Sousuke, it’s just him being a decent host.

“Well, yeah, I do — but just let me at least put the cups and stuff on the table.”

“No.”

Sousuke frowns, and Haru’s starting to think he might actually get punched or something soon. He’s not being an ass on purpose, but he hates it when people try to boss him around and wants to show Sousuke that he isn’t going to back down.

“Nanase, I swear to _god_ , I’m—“

They both reach for the tea cups at the same time, and Sousuke grabs Haru’s wrist to prevent him from getting them. Haru twists his arm to try and break free, but Sousuke won’t budge.

“Worst guest I’ve ever had”, he mutters. “If you don’t stop being a stubborn little child, I’m going to kick you out.”

Sousuke turns him around and makes him back up against the counter. “Then kick me out”, he says, as if he’s challenging Haru, and Haru just stares back at him in disbelief.

“I’m not going to kick you out. Not right now.”

“Then why’d you say you would? Was that an empty threat?”

“Do you really want me to throw you out of my house?” Haruka bristles, his patience finally running out. Sousuke grins.

“I’d like to see you try.”

Haru takes a deep breath and just regards Sousuke for a few seconds before he pushes Sousuke away. He takes down the tea set from the cupboard and begins preparing the tea, all the while ignoring Sousuke angrily glaring at him from the side.

Sousuke quietly follows him back into the living room as he sets down the tray onto the kotatsu table, and the two of them sit down on the opposite side of each other. As Haru starts pouring them tea, Sousuke sighs in annoyance.

“Isn’t there _anything_ that’ll actually make you snap?”

Haru looks up. “Do you want me to?”

“Nah, it’s kinda pointless now, I suppose. I’m just wondering, because you seem to have the patience of a fucking saint. If I were you, I would’ve kicked me out by now.”

“So you were testing me?”

Sousuke snorts. “Yeah. So why aren’t you getting pissed? Aren’t you supposed to hate me after all this time of me antagonising you?”

Haru finishes pouring their tea and sets the pot down. Why does Sousuke want Haruka to hate him so much? He doesn’t understand, and he certainly doesn’t have a reason to do so. Sousuke may have had one in the past, but that doesn’t apply to Haru. He never really thought anything of Sousuke before, really. Well, now he just finds him strange and somewhat annoying.

“I don’t have a reason to get angry with you. Well, I would have, if you had broken my tea set in the kitchen.”

Sousuke laughs a little, which makes Haru all the more confused. This entire situation is odd, really, but Haru chooses not to inquire on it right now. “Yeah. Well, I would’ve caught it before anything happened, anyway.”

Haru suddenly remembers the incident in the elevator at the hotel before regionals where he and Sousuke had ended up in the same elevator and Haru witnessed the pain Sousuke had been hiding for so long.

Sousuke had reached to grab the towels that flew off the trolley that the other guy in the elevator had accidentally tilted, but the shoulder injury prevented Sousuke from barely moving his arm forward at all.

Deciding to take the risk and walk on thin ice, Haru opens his mouth. “Is your shoulder healed now?”

When Sousuke turns to him, Haru’s pretty sure that this is the time he’ll receive a punch straight to the face. But it doesn’t happen, and Sousuke just sighs. “Not entirely, but I’m almost there. I mostly just feel it when it’s cold out and I’m being stubborn enough to not wear sufficient clothing.”

Haru huffs out a soft laugh through his nose. “I see. Good thing it’s getting better.”

“Yeah.”

* * *

 

“Surprised you didn’t try and poison me”, Sousuke jokes, and Haru frowns. They’ve finished their tea, and now they’re just sitting and making small-talk. Well, if that’s what you can call it when it comes to these two.

“I told you, I don’t have a reason to—“

Sousuke waves dismissively, smile still lingering on his lips. “I know, I know — I was just kidding. So, hey, are we… are we cool? Have I earned your forgiveness?”

Haruka shrugs and finishes his tea. “I guess. I should be asking that, though. Since I was the one you were pissed at, and not the other way around.”

He still feels like some things might be a little sensitive to mention, but he’s slowly getting more confident that Sousuke isn’t going to actually hit him if he says something that’s a bit over the line.

“Yeah, sure. I’m done with being pissed off at people, really”, Sousuke replies with a shrug.

Having finished up their tea, Haru reluctantly agrees to Sousuke helping him in the kitchen once again. While he understands Sousuke’s reasoning for wanting to help, Haru still has to resist the urge to just tell his guest — albeit an unexpected one — to sit down. The manners his parents have taught him ever since he was little are deep-rooted, but he’s finally having to push them aside.

Haru washes the cups and such while Sousuke dries them off and puts them on the rack by the sink. They work in silence, just listening to the sounds coming from outside; birds chirping and the rustling of leaves on the trees. It’s actually quite nice not having to talk, Haru finds.

When they’re done, he wipes his hands on a towel and begins to head out. All of a sudden, two strong arms embrace him from behind, and Haru flinches.

“Yamazaki. What are you doing?”

“Just stand still. You don’t like hugs?”

Haru fidgets a little, like a cat who doesn’t like to be held. “I don’t know. Why?”

He means ‘why are you doing this?’ more than ‘why are you wondering?’, and he hopes Sousuke understands that, because he doesn’t feel like explaining himself.

“Just felt like it. I’ve actually enjoyed hanging out with you today, as strange as that feels to say and must sound. Doesn’t Tachibana hug you like all the time?”

Haru shrugs, but eventually eases into the embrace. “He does. But that’s Makoto. I didn’t see you as a hugging type.”

“I’m not. Well, normally. I dunno, it must be something about you.”

“Am I supposed to take that as a compliment or an insult?”

“That’s up to you.”

Haru finds himself not actually disliking it; it’s quite nice, surprisingly enough. He loosens Sousuke’s grip for a bit, but just so he can turn around and return the embrace properly. It’s such an odd situation, two former enemies standing in his hallway hugging. Haru isn’t sure how he would explain this if anyone happened to walk in on them right now, and he's glad at least Makoto has the decency to announce his presence before barging in.

“So you do like hugs”, Sousuke murmurs into his hair. Haru shudders; the reverberations of Sousuke’s low voice sends weird chills down his spine, adding onto the rumbling against his chest.

“Yeah”, he responds. “I suppose.”

Sousuke can be annoying and stubborn, but Haruka realises he isn’t actually a _bad_ person. He might have weird ways of thinking and doing things, but Haru’s sure Makoto could say the same about him.

The taller man clears his throat and separates himself from Haru. “I should probably go, I’ve imposed on your hospitality for too long”, he says.

He walks out towards the front door and grabs his shoes, and Haru chews on his lower lip in hesitation. It’s a Sunday and he doesn’t have anything to do — why does that have to mean Sousuke should leave? Or maybe he has other things to attend to?

After what feels like five minutes, Haru grabs the hem of Sousuke’s shirt as he opens the door.

“Do you _have_ to go?” Haru asks, but he realises how it sounds more like a mutter than anything.

Sousuke shrugs. “Not really. But I’ve already stayed for both lunch and tea, and I wasn’t even invited. I kinda invited myself, and that was rude of me. Sorry about that.”

“I don’t mind.”

“So do you want me to stay?”

Haru hesitates again. “Yeah. If you want to.”

Sousuke drops his shoes onto the floor, turns around and lifts Haruka up in his arms. “Then I’ll stay.”

For once, Haru doesn’t resist. He wraps his arms around Sousuke’s neck and lets the other carry him inside again.


	2. Come back to me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haru works at a little pastry shop, Sousuke works as a police officer. They're living in Iwatobi, and their daily lives are for the most part sunshine and blue skies. Haru just fears that one day, things might change, especially with Sousuke's type of work.
> 
> Based on [this](http://tatsudai.tumblr.com/post/103973445281/sh-week-day-1-future-fish-kids-dont-tell-me) post, and then it got a little out of hand. That tends to happen with my fic ideas.

Haru always prepares Sousuke's lunch, seeing as the other isn't very capable of taking care of himself. Haru's pretty sure he'd either just buy himself something unhealthy, or skip lunch altogether. Either way, it's much better for him to make Sousuke's lunch, besides — he doesn't really mind doing it since he's making his own lunch, anyway.

Sousuke comes in to the pastry shop around one in the afternoon and picks up his bento. They've developed some sort of routine this way, Sousuke always coming in at the same time and Haru seeing him off with the same words every day. This time, for some reason, he decides to change it up a little. He had a nightmare that involved Sousuke that night, so that might be why.

"Come back to me."

Sousuke looks at him with surprise, as Haru puts his hand on the back of his head and pulls him close. "Don't tell me what to do, Nanase. That goes without saying."

"You say that, but you can never be sure", Haru retorts with a small pout. Sousuke laughs a little and nuzzles their noses together, like an Eskimo kiss. "I know, I'm sorry."

Haru lets his boyfriend kiss him quickly before they separate, and then he clears his throat. "See you tonight."

"Yeah."

Sousuke's smile ends up sticking to Haru's mind for the rest of that day, and it helps keep him motivated.

 

* * *

 

He's used to Sousuke coming back late, but Haru still never really seems to be able to stay calm past ten in the evening when his boyfriend hasn't returned yet. He doesn't go to sleep until Sousuke does, and always sits up waiting for him. Haru doesn't like the way Sousuke seems to take things for granted, the way he always just assumes that they'll always see each other again at the end of the day. What if one day they won't?

Haru doesn't feel like he's anywhere near being stable enough to handle losing Sousuke, and whenever Sousuke just shrugs it off, it turns into a bit of an argument, but they quickly get over it, both feeling like it isn't something worth fighting over.

Time keeps ticking on but there's still no sign of Sousuke past midnight. Haruka starts fidgeting and gets restless, getting up from the couch and walking aimlessly around the apartment. It's not like he can just go out there and look for Sousuke, since he could be just about anywhere in Iwatobi right now. And even if Haru would go search all over town for the other, he knows it's probably not a good idea. Especially this late at night.

He nearly jumps out of his skin when his phone vibrates in the pocket of his sweatpants. Haru fishes it out and is surprised to see Rin's name on the display. Rin is his and Sousuke's best friend, and also Sousuke's partner at work. He feels his chest tighten as he hesitantly answers the call.

"Rin?"

" _Haru... you should probably come to the hospital. Something... happened_." Rin's voice is thick, and Haru hears signs of him having cried; he might still be crying, even. It doesn't even take a second for Haru to register it, and he hangs up, marches out into the hallway where he puts on a pair of shoes and goes out, but not before making sure to lock the door behind him.

There's only one hospital in Iwatobi, so Haru doesn't really have to ask which one he's supposed to go to. And while he might not be in the same shape he used to be when he was in high school, Haru's confident he'll be able to run all the way there. If he were to walk, it'd take him about ten minutes, but he hopes he can make it within just a few minutes if he runs. What if it's serious? He doesn't have any time to waste, so he might as well. There's no time to call for a taxi, either, and the only vehicle they have is the car that Sousuke takes into work every morning.

Haru jogs down the stairs from their apartment complex and runs towards the hospital. It's a little chilly out, but he doesn't really care. All he can think about right now is Sousuke, and how cruel and ironic it is that he keeps telling Sousuke to come back to him, and the other keeps replying that, of course he will. What if this time, he won't actually come back to Haru? What if this time, the only way he'll come back is in a coffin?

About five minutes later, Haru arrives at the reception in the hospital, slightly out of breath. The receptionist looks at him with slight worry in her eyes, and he places both hands on the counter to steady himself.

"Is— is Yamazaki Sousuke in?"

"Let me check", she says and goes through her protocol for just a few seconds before her index finger stops somewhere on the list. "Ah, yes. Are you a family member?"

"Boyfriend", he says, expecting her to stare at him incredulously, but she just nods.

"Okay. He's just gotten out of surgery, so he'll be able to see you now. Normally, we wouldn't take visitors this late at night, but I'll make an exception", she says with a little smile that Haru doesn't return. "I'll walk you to his room."

He wants to say something as a response, but there are no words coming out of his mouth. His throat suddenly feels dry and his thoughts are all over the place. At least Sousuke's alive, that calms him down a little. He just wonders how seriously wounded Sousuke is, considering Rin had sounded absolutely devastated on the phone.

The nurse stops outside one of the rooms, and Haru spots Rin just outside. He thanks the nurse for walking him there and walks over to Rin, whose eyes are red and slightly puffed up from him crying, and it worries Haru even more than he thought he already was.

"Rin... is he okay?"

The redhead sniffles and looks at him. "He was shot, Haru. I... I was right next to him when the bastard shot him, and I couldn't— I couldn't do anything. I'm such a worthless friend and partner. I don't... know why he still wants to work with me."

"Have you seen him?"

"Yeah", Rin replies and not so graciously wipes his nose with the back of his hand. "He asked about you."

"I'm going in."

He receives a nod in response, and Haru hesitantly places his hand on the door handle, takes a breath and opens the door.

 

* * *

 

The fluorescent lights in Sousuke's hospital room are far too bright, and Haru squints to adjust to them. He locates Sousuke in the bed, which is right by the window. Sousuke's staring out said window until he hears Haru coming in, and their eyes meet.

"Didn't think they'd allow visitors this late at night", Sousuke says with a little smile. Haru frowns as he walks up to the other and kneels before the bed, his hands grasping Sousuke's. He sees Sousuke's left shoulder in a sling, heavily bandaged, and his heart aches.

"Don't make jokes", Haru mutters. "They made an exception this time. What happened?"

"This time", Sousuke repeats sarcastically. "Well, they seem to be pretty lenient when it comes to most things around here, so maybe that _shouldn't_ be surprising."

"Sousuke", Haru says in a stern voice, aware that Sousuke's just trying to steer him off the subject. His boyfriend sighs.

"Rin told you, huh? I bet he made it sound like I was about to die. I wasn't. Some idiot shot me in the shoulder, and I got lucky. Well, I guess that depends on how you define it. I got lucky in the way that it only hit my shoulder and didn't tear any muscles. Also because he didn't shoot the shoulder I'm still having problems with."

He laughs bitterly as he finishes talking, and Haru can tell that Sousuke doesn't see this as a joke, but he tries to. It's a cruel situation, and Sousuke's just trying to make the best out of it, Haru understands that. He lets out a shaky sigh of relief and rests his head on top of their joined hands.

"You know, you  _could_ grab the chair by the door instead of sitting on your knees like that", Sousuke says. "That doesn't look comfortable."

"Don't care."  _All that matters to me right now is that you're alive and you're safe_ , is what he thinks but doesn't say.

Haru closes his eyes, feeling the tiredness sweep over him now that he's finally able to focus on things other than Sousuke's safety. Sousuke wriggles one of his hands free to place it on top of Haruka's head and run his fingers through the other man's hair. "Haruka, come up here."

The way Sousuke says his name has Haru perk his ears and turn his face to the side so he can see Sousuke's face. "What?"

"Lie beside me."

"What about the nurses—"

"I don't really give a damn about what they think. I want you to stay with me and they'll have to respect that. Simple as that. So get up here before you'll regret ever sitting in that dumb position."

"I've gotten used to it, though", Haru grumbles, and Sousuke coughs awkwardly, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks.

"Shut up."

Haruka gets up and crawls on top of the bed to lie next to Sousuke, who puts his good arm around him and lets out a long exhale. "I'm... sorry I took this whole thing for granted."

"What do you mean?" Haru inquires, and Sousuke bites his lower lip.

"I mean, us. I always took for granted that I'd never fuck up at work and always be able to come home to you. It never occurred to me that one day I might not. Or it might be the other way around, too. I just— wanted to say that I'm sorry that I didn't take it more seriously. I will from now on, though."

Haruka leans against Sousuke's shoulder and sighs. "Don't do that to me again."

"I can't promise, but I'll try. Trust me, I don't have a death wish."

It's not exactly what Haru wants to hear, but it's the truth, and that's all he can ask for. Sousuke's a terrible liar anyway, so Haru would be able to spot it without having to think about it for very long.

"When will they discharge you?" he asks. Sousuke shrugs. "Probably the day after tomorrow, they want me to stay and rest for a bit. I don't see why, it wasn't that big of a deal. They just took the bullet out and sewed the wound shut, and that was it."

Haruka grimaces a little at the imagery that involuntarily enters his brain. "But you're okay, right?"

"I told you, didn't I? Really, Rin shouldn't be allowed to judge these things, he always ends up blowing things way out of proportion. I'm sorry if he worried you."

"He might've worried me a little, but you worried me more."

"Sorry", Sousuke mumbles and presses a kiss to his cheek. Haruka decides to just let it go, he figures Sousuke must be pretty annoyed about the whole thing himself.

He knows that all of this is something he still has to get used to. The idea that Sousuke might not come home from work alive one day. The possibility that things like these can happen since Sousuke works as a police officer, after all. Haruka wouldn't ever dream of trying to convince Sousuke to try and get a different kind of job, one that doesn't end up risking his life every day. He respects Sousuke's choices in life, and while it might not make him too happy, he knows it at least makes Sousuke happy.

"Sousuke."

"Yeah."

"I love you."

He says it mostly because he feels like he hasn't said it in a while, and he wonders if there'll ever be a next time. This might be the last, it might not be — but he has to make sure he lets Sousuke know how he feels every now and then. To make each day count.

Sousuke lets out a little chuckle and tightens his embrace around Haruka's shoulders. "I love you, too."


	3. Laughter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sousuke has never heard Haru laugh, he realises. And no matter how corny the jokes, Haru doesn't even smile. He might snort, but that's about it. Sousuke's growing desperate, so he asks Rin for help.
> 
> _"How the fuck does one make Nanase laugh?"_
> 
> (He insists on just being curious, but he also has a feeling that Nanase Haruka has a really cute laugh, and he's determined to make it happen.)
> 
> Loosely based on [this](http://tatsudai.tumblr.com/post/104083813586/sh-week-day-2-first-time-starting-over-the-first) cute thing.

He's tried so many times that it's a surprise to Sousuke that Haruka hasn't yet commented on his fruitless efforts of making him laugh. He's tried countless of really corny jokes that usually have Rin cry from laughter — although to be fair, Rin cries over everything — and while he knows Haruka's usually the epitome of neutrality, he just wants to hear it, see a smile on that guy's face, just once.

"Hey, Nanase, wanna hear a joke?"

Haruka just shrugs in response, but Sousuke continues anyway. "A chiropractor's wife tells him she loves him. He says he loves her back."

He waits for a response, and at first, there is none. But then he hears Haruka faintly snort, and he feels like he's going to go crazy.

"Is there  _anything_ that makes you laugh?"

"Sure there is. Your jokes won't, though. They're terrible."

Sousuke glares at the man across from the table and wants to bite back with a rude comment, but decides against it. Instead, he lies down on the floor and stares up at the ceiling for a while before he has an idea. Rin has to know. He's known Nanase for long enough to have seen him laugh at least  _once_. Besides, Sousuke obviously doesn't know Haruka all that well, and Rin does and probably knows of some way to make the guy at least smile or something.

Why he's so hung up on it, he has no idea. Probably because he always sees either a frown or just a neutral expression plastered onto that face, and he needs some variation.

**You** :  _Don't read too much into this, but... How the fuck does one make Nanase laugh?_

 

He puts his phone down on his chest and closes his eyes for a bit. The silence around them isn't bothering him, but he feels like he's still growing restless, wanting to do something. Or maybe he's just secretly irritated that his umpteenth attempt at making Haruka laugh didn't work. Either way, his thoughts are interrupted when his phone vibrates on his chest, making him flinch.

**Rin** :  _Guessing your jokes didn't work on him, huh? I actually managed to make him laugh once in front of everyone. I tickled him. Try that_.

 

Sousuke stares at his phone in disbelief. He can't believe such a simple thing as Haruka being ticklish escaped his mind. If anything, that _would_ be his one weakness. Of course it would, it's typical Sousuke's luck; the one thing he hasn't tried is usually the only thing that works.

He sits up again and groans a little due to the pain in his back. Glancing over at Haruka, he sees that the other is deeply focused on sketching, with his nose almost touching the page he's currently working on. Sousuke knows bad timing when he sees it, and this is definitely it. He knows Haruka won't throw him out of the house should he try and disturb him now, but he's not going to be let off the hook that easily, either.

Haruka puts down his sketch pad and pen on the kotatsu table with a sigh before he stretches. It's a sign that he's been sitting like that for too long, and that his joints are getting stiff. Sousuke sees this as a golden opportunity.

"Want me to massage your shoulders and neck? You look a little stiff."

"I don't", Haruka says, but Sousuke knows he secretly  _does_ want it, he's just ashamed to admit it. If he really doesn't want it, he'll start squirming like a cat that doesn't like to be touched, so Sousuke decides to give it a try anyway. He gets up from his spot and sits behind Haruka, who glares back at him. "I told you I don't want massage."

"I know you did, but I don't believe you." He places his hands on Haruka's shoulders and begins kneading, upon which the black-haired man in front of him starts squirming, just as expected. "Sit still."

"I don't—"

"I said I know. Is it really that uncomfortable? Am I doing it too hard?"

"No, but I don't need massage."

"You do. Soon enough, you're going to start experiencing problems the way you hunch your shoulders and bend your neck when you draw. It's not good for you, you know."

Haruka snorts. "Okay,  _Mum_."

Sousuke softly kicks Haruka in the back with his knee. "Stop being such a brat. I don't understand how Tachibana put up with you all those years."

"Neither do I."

The tone Haruka uses makes Sousuke feel bad for what he said, and he immediately regrets it and curses himself for not thinking. "Sorry. I didn't mean it like that", he mumbles.

There's a few seconds of silence between them, and it makes Sousuke anxious. His kneading motions become soothing ones, and he just softly runs his hands along Haruka's upper arms before he stops and takes him into his embrace instead, leaning Haruka against his chest. He's stopped squirming and moving about, and now Haruka's just sitting still. Sousuke wonders if he's given up or actually enjoys sitting like this.

"I've often wondered the same thing", Haruka begins, and Sousuke tries not to be surprised that Haruka's suddenly started talking. He doesn't stop moving his hands up and down Haruka's upper arms, and the other doesn't protest, either, so he assumes it's fine to continue. "Makoto's always been almost too patient with me. He's scared of conflicts, so I guess that's why he's never said anything when I've been difficult to deal with. Because I know I've been, on several occasions."

Sousuke doesn't know what to say in response, so he just sits quietly and waits for Haruka to continue. It isn't often Haruka chooses to speak up, especially when it's a subject as sensitive as this one. Sousuke knows the gist of why Rin brought Haruka to Australia way back when, but he hasn't heard Haruka's or Makoto's side of it, which would probably help to give him a better understanding of their friendship.

"I've always seen it in his eyes when he knows I'm in the wrong and when he desperately wants to tell me so, or at least argue back. But he never did, he just smiled and let it go, pretending like I hadn't just hurt him. I know I've hurt him on several occasions, and while I  _have_ apologised before, it just doesn't feel like enough."

Sousuke only hums to acknowledge he's still listening, and Haruka relaxes ever so slightly in his arms. "Sorry. This is probably boring, huh", he mutters.

"Nah. Just surprised you wanted to tell me, that's all." They sit quietly for a few more minutes before Sousuke decides it's probably safe for him to speak again. "But things are good between you two now, right?"

"Yeah. I guess we learnt to be more honest with each other after what happened. I'm thankful to Rin for sort of teaching me that."

The more Sousuke gets to know Haruka, the more he understands his and his friends' pasts. Especially Rin, who's supposed to be his best friend but whom he realises he didn't know all that well as he originally thought. He's glad he had that talk with Rin way back when, and even more so when it comes to Haruka. Because if he hadn't swallowed his pride and come to Haruka to both ask for his forgiveness and to talk things out — they definitely wouldn't be in this position right now. He's thankful for it, but that's not something he's going to tell Haruka.

So instead of saying it, Sousuke nuzzles his nose into the nape of Haruka's neck and plants soft kisses. Soon enough, the other starts squirming about, and Sousuke pulls back.

"What?"

"It tickles."

Wait a minute. _Tickles?_ Sousuke thinks back to what Rin told him over text a little while ago, and it clicks in his head. It's almost as if some otherworldly being has bestowed this opportunity upon him. He doesn't know what he's done to deserve it, but _damn_ , is he thankful for it.

Deciding to take advantage of it, Sousuke ignores what Haruka just told him and keeps going. His fingers trail along Haruka's sides, and soon enough, he starts tickling him there. At first, there's no reaction besides very small sounds barely escaping the smaller man's throat as he's trying to keep it in. But of course, that doesn't last very long, and he starts laughing.

It sounds weird at first, but Sousuke realises that it's because he's never heard Haruka laugh before. And man... Nanase Haruka has a beautiful laugh. It's like music in his ears, and he doesn't want to stop tickling Haruka because he doesn't want it to stop. He knows he'll have to stop soon, though, or Haruka's going to elbow him in the side or something.

Haruka calms down, letting the laughter slowly die out and regulates his breathing before he turns his head and glares daggers at his boyfriend. "What was _that_ for?"

Sousuke shrugs with a little smile dancing on his lips. "I wanted to hear you laugh, that's all."

"That's dumb", Haruka mutters and turns around again. "I can't believe you found out. Next time you do that, I'm going to fight back, you know."

"Fine by me."

_Totally worth it_ , he thinks to himself and grins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm on Tumblr as [popnographic](http://popnographic.tk/) if you want to shoot me a message either about this fic or to just have a chat!


	4. Call my name

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You have beautiful eyes, Nanase."  
> "Shut your mouth, Yamazaki. And stop calling me that, just say my name instead."
> 
> First-name basis even after they've had sex a few times. Logic.
> 
> Oh, and this is the first chapter in which I have to set the rating higher. Yes, this is explicit. (Sort of.) Yes, there is smut. But also maybe not so disgusting fluff.

Haru has no idea why he's suddenly lying on Sousuke's lap staring up at the ceiling, when just a second ago, he had his nose buried in his sketchbook and was deeply immersed with the sketch he was working on. A strong arm had suddenly appeared around his shoulders and brought him down, and before he knows it, Sousuke's face covers his view. He frowns.

"What are you doing, Yamazaki?"

"Getting your attention. You know you've been drawing for like two hours straight now, right?"

To be honest, Haru doesn't have the best perception of time when he's drawing. He tends to forget everything that goes on around him, and not a lot could break his concentration. Well, unless someone physically breaks his concentration by pulling his head down onto their lap.  _He's so needy_ , Haru thinks to himself and sighs inwardly. "I don't. So what, can't you entertain yourself? If it's so boring being here, why not just go home?"

"Do you want me to go home?"

He doesn't, but he doesn't want to give Sousuke the satisfaction of being correct. He pouts and averts his gaze, but to no avail, because Sousuke leans down and kisses him, up and down and all.

"You're cute when you're pissed, Nanase, you know that?"

Haru slaps the taller male on the arm and tries to get up, and at first, he thinks he's actually succeeded — but when he sits up, Sousuke takes his face in both hands and kisses him again. It's a slow, tender kiss, and Haru knows very well what it means. He puts the sketchpad down and brings his arms around Sousuke's neck, which seems to spur Sousuke on even more as he pulls Haru even closer and eventually lays him back down onto the floor.

"I don't want to do this on the floor", Haru says, breaking the kiss. Sousuke looks at him with an arched eyebrow, regarding him for a second before he laughs.

"You're right, sorry. Well, come on, then."

Sousuke gets up from the floor and lends Haruka a hand to get up, and then leads him upstairs and into the bedroom. Said bedroom has started to look like there isn't just one person living in this house, but two. Technically, Sousuke doesn't actually live there, but he spends more of his time at Haru's house than in his own apartment. He has his own drawer in Haru's chest of drawers, and he even has his own space in the medicine cabinet in the upstairs bathroom, where he keeps a toothbrush, a razor and a deodorant. Haruka's secretly thankful that Sousuke is a man of few items, making it less cluttered than it used to be whenever Makoto stayed over.

Wasting no time, the tall brunet picks Haru up and then lays him down onto the bed, like he's some sort of cat. Sousuke makes it seem like Haru's a cat, too, since he seems to be able to carry Haru with little to no effort at all. Maybe that goes for someone with muscles of that quality and size; Haru loves just running his fingers along the lines of Sousuke's muscles, admiring them, and at first, Sousuke had barked at him not to do that, but Haru figured he was just embarrassed. Eventually, Sousuke either just gave up trying to fight back or he learnt to accept it, because he doesn't say anything anymore whenever Haru does it.

Having been there so many times, Sousuke obviously knows where pretty much everything is around the house. Having undressed his lover, Sousuke reaches over to the nightstand next to the bed where he opens the little drawer and pulls out the lube and condoms they've almost run out of by this point.

It's almost become a thing for them to use sex as an excuse for things; if the day has been bad, if some article of clothing has shrunk in the laundry — which rarely happens since Haru does the laundry for the most part and never fails — or if the weather's been particularly bad so they weren't able to go out of the house. Haru wonders what excuse Sousuke wants to use today, as he has yet to hear of it, but it's becoming increasingly obvious that Sousuke might not have an excuse. Either way, Haru's fine with it, he's actually been craving some intimacy for a while as he hasn't had much of it in the past few days since they've both been busy.

When a cold finger slowly enters him, Haru arches his back and yelps out in surprise. Sousuke looks down at him with a slightly concerned frown. "Are you okay?"

Haru nods quickly and breathes out slowly. "... Yeah. Keep going, I think it might be because it's been a while."

Sousuke clicks his tongue and does as he's told, making Haru's eyes flutter shut out of sheer pleasure as he's already starting to get used to it again. "Shut up, can't be helped."

"I know."

Maybe  _that's_ his reason, Haru ponders, and the thought makes him oddly happy. Sousuke keeps going at a steady but slow pace, making sure to not rush things, and Haru knows it's because Sousuke is terrified of hurting him. It's funny, because not too long ago, Haru still fully believed Sousuke would've been more than capable of punching him if he struck a sensitive nerve. Nowadays, the thought makes him almost laugh, because the Sousuke he's gotten to know is almost the complete opposite of the Sousuke he  _didn't_ know when they were still in high school.

"Still okay?"

" _Yes_ ", Haru repeats for what feels like the umpteenth time as Sousuke's already added a second finger, curling them inside him and slowly stretching him out. It's almost too slow, and Haru's growing impatient. "Please just get on with it, Yamazaki."

"Are you sure?"

"Stop asking so many questions, I told you yes."

Sousuke shrugs and pulls out his fingers, making Haru feel empty and almost  _needy_ ; he had Sousuke for a moment but then it was taken away from him. Gladly, it won't take long until they're connected again, and this time in a different way. He watches as Sousuke puts the condom on, and when Sousuke looks back at him, he frowns again. "What?"

"Nothing", Haru replies and bites back a laugh.  _He's so cute_ , he thinks, before he comes to his senses.  _No, he's such an idiot_. An idiot who somehow manages to be adorable despite his sometimes intimidating and buff looks. Sousuke's still very much of a mystery to Haru, but he figures he still has plenty of time to figure the other man out.

When Sousuke finally,  _finally_  enters him, Haru feels like he's almost ascended to heaven, and rolls his head back with a drawn out moan. His fingers immediately grasp at the sheets, and when Sousuke moves, he tightens his grip. Sousuke should consider himself lucky that Haru doesn't have his hands on Sousuke's back right now, or he'd probably dig his nails into it or scratch him. Not like that hasn't happened before, but maybe that's why it would be a good idea to do a repeat performance.

It doesn't take long before Sousuke stops, and Haru is so confused he's immediately taken out of his dazed state, and he looks up at the other man. "What—"

"I want to try something different", Sousuke replies and pulls out, making Haru even more confused and also frustrated. He wonders if Sousuke's just teasing him right now, and he resists the urge to pinch the arm right next to his left hand, which has let go of the sheets below him.

"Right. What's that?"

"Can you sit on my lap?"

Haruka snorts and raises an eyebrow in disbelief. "What? I thought we were having sex."

"That's not gonna change. So, can you?"

Haru sits up and demonstrates by pointedly pushing Sousuke off of him and gesturing for him to switch places. When Sousuke's on his back, Haru sits with his legs over Sousuke, and just the sheer feeling of their cocks rubbing together sends sparks through his body. He shudders, and hears a low growl from the man below him, who yanks him down and hungrily catches his lips in a kiss.

Sousuke taps him on the back, and Haruka lifts himself up just a bit before he feels Sousuke's cock gently prodding at his entrance again. When it enters him again, he lets out a hiss and tilts his head back. Sousuke sits up and puts his hands on the small of Haru's back, slowly starting to move. No matter how many times they've done this before, Sousuke always assumes Haru needs more preparation than he actually does, and sometimes it drives Haruka mad with impatience, but it's also a surprisingly sweet gesture.

Steadying himself, Haru wraps his arms around Sousuke's neck and kisses him, passionately but sloppily, not being able to contain his sexual frustration that's been building up for the past week or so. He thrusts his hips and tries syncing up with his lover's motions, and soon enough, he does. He sees beads of sweat form on Sousuke's forehead and slowly trickle down, and it's so disgustingly sexy that it spurs Haru on even more for some reason.

Their movements speed up, the same thing goes for Haru's breathing as heat's pooling in the pit of his stomach. Sousuke's still stretching him wide, and Haru feels the other's impossibly huge cock go in and out of him, slowly but still at a good pace. Before they had sex the first time, Haruka had made the assumption that Sousuke would be like a rough, wild beast in bed. Not that he  _hasn't_ been — but it's been on occasions where it was either warranted or where Haru had explicitly requested it of him.

Instead, what Haru got was a man who thinks consent is the most important thing in the entire world, he's gentle and he takes great care of Haru afterwards. It's so different from Haru's first assumption that he almost feels bad now, months later, when Sousuke's basically a huge cuddle-bug who continually asks if he's okay. And even if Haru may show annoyance at it, he's secretly glad.

"Yamazaki, I'm— I'm about to come", he wheezes, and Sousuke thrusts up into him as if to acknowledge it and make him come. Haru's legs are shaking, his hips are about to buckle and Sousuke's hand wrapped around his cock is pumping him with such force and speed that he knows he'll only last a few more seconds at this rate.

Haru lets himself give into ecstasy and lets out a loud moan as he sees stars in the ceiling above and rides out his orgasm. Sousuke follows not too long after, and before he has the time to get off, strong hands are still holding him down by the hips, and Haru gives the other man a look.

"Let me get off."

Sousuke captures his lips in a kiss again and looks at him, and Haru is just about to ask what the hell Yamazaki's looking at when he opens his mouth.

"You have beautiful eyes, Nanase."

Haru frowns before he puts a hand behind Sousuke's head to lock eyes with him. "Shut your mouth, Yamazaki. And stop calling me that, just say my name instead."

Sousuke laughs and stretches up to peck Haru on the nose. "Well, stop calling me Yamazaki, then. Just Sousuke's fine."

He gets off Sousuke and lets the other take the condom off and dispose of it. While he's doing that, Haru gets out of bed and goes to wash himself up. When he reaches the bathroom door, he feels two arms wrap around his waist, and he sighs.

"Still not had enough?"

"I never have. I just thought we could shower together for once."

Haru snorts. "Like we don't already do that a lot."

"You're no fun, huh, Haruka."

Haru finds himself blushing again, and he's glad he's got his back turned to the taller male. The way Sousuke says his names sends a horde of butterflies straight into his stomach, wildly flapping their wings about. He exhales slowly. "Haru is fine, _Sousuke"_ , he says, making sure to remember not to use 'Yamazaki' anymore. It'll be something he'll have to work on, for sure.

"I'd rather use Haruka. It feels more exclusive. I mean, everyone else calls you Haru, don't they?"

Haru turns his head and stares at Sousuke quizzically. "Yeah, so what?"

"Seeing as I already have the privilege of being with you like this, I feel like me getting to call you by your actual name is a given thing that comes along with all that."

"Jeez, fine. Do whatever you want."

Of course, Haru's secretly giddy about this weird development in their relationship. Not that he'd give Sousuke the satisfaction of knowing that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was inspired by [this Makoharu doujin](http://myreadingmanga.info/sneeeze-kubu-free-dj-namae-wo-yonde-dakishimete-jp/) (it's still raw, mind), and it fit so well with Sousuke and Haruka calling each other by last names. I also threw in something I saw [ here](http://tatsudai.tumblr.com/post/100097681671/okay-did-a-super-duper-late-request-for-my-cousin) because it was so cute.
> 
> Weak for Souharu, me? Hahaha, what are you talking about, that's ridiculous.


	5. One step further

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Have you ever thought about getting hitched with Haru?"  
> "Hah?"  
> Rin rolls his eyes. "Don't play dumb with me, Sou. You know what I mean."  
> He does. Oh, he does.
> 
> Rin gives Sousuke a not-so-gentle push in a direction Sousuke didn't think neither he or Haruka would want to go.

"Have you ever thought about getting hitched with Haru?"

"Hah?"

Rin rolls his eyes. "Don't play dumb with me, Sou. You know what I mean."

He does. Oh, he does. He's though about it so many times it's a miracle he hasn't just blurted out something incredibly stupid in front of Haru yet.

"What's it to you if I have?" Sousuke asks instead, still fully aware that Rin's going to take that as a yes.

"Oh, nothing", Rin teases. "I just figured since you guys have been together since forever, maybe it'd be about time to take it a step forward. Just saying."

"We're not you and Makoto, you know.", Sousuke retorts. "I'm perfectly fine with the way things are right now, and I think Haruka is, too. There's no need to change things if we're happy with the way things are."

Rin pouts and looks out the window. "So you don't ever want to get married?"

To be fair, Sousuke usually isn't a romantic person, Rin is. Haru isn't much of a romantic, either, and people around them always say it just looks like they're friends when they're among others. But Sousuke likes it that way. He's not into big, public displays of affection, and prefers to keep those things between just himself and Haru. They're eerily similar in that regard, and he's glad for that.

"I don't know. Maybe", he says, but that's a half lie. He does want to get married and settle down, but at the same time, he's scared. What if Haru still stubbornly clings to his "only free" philosophy? Sousuke knows that doesn't just apply to him being immersed in water, but pretty much everything else, too.

"I think you two should at least talk about it", Rin says with a shrug. "I don't think it'd damage your relationship if one of you were opposed to the idea. You'd probably just go on like nothing ever happened. You guys are weird like that, but it's in a good way."

"Uh-huh. Yeah, I'll think about it."

 

* * *

 

It's a little hard to concentrate at work the next day thanks to Rin having brainwashed him with that marriage talk. Sousuke's tried countless times not to think about it, but it's been a worthless effort so far. He catches himself staring out the window or at the clock on the wall several times during the day whilst either tapping a pen against his desk or twirling it between his fingers, and his not so difficult tasks take much longer than they probably should. He hates the fact that he's let Rin's words get to him this easily, when for the most part, he's able to let them just bounce off of him.

When he's finally done for the day, after what feels like an agonisingly long seven hours, Sousuke heads back home. Thankfully, he'd been able to mask his distraction well enough at work to not have anyone comment on it, but he feels like he's soon going to reach his limit. He hates to admit it, but he really needs to talk to Haru about this, and find out whether or not his boyfriend would mind becoming his husband.

He sees that Haru's home all the way down the stairs leading up to the house, and it makes him a little nervous. Sousuke, nervous? It rarely happens, so why now of all times? It's just a talk. Rin knows both of them very well, but is he right about the fact that Sousuke and Haruka could just bounce back after a talk like this, if Haru doesn't want to get married? And if not, what the hell are they supposed to do? He wonders if it's worth risking their entire relationship over this, but at the same time, he knows that since he literally can't stop thinking about it now, he  _has_ to talk to Haru about it, whether he likes it or not.

Sousuke walks inside and murmurs a "I'm home", but there's no response. He doesn't even have to think twice before assuming Haru's probably in the bath, and when he walks further inside towards the bathroom, he's proven right as he sees Haru's clothes haphazardly thrown into a pile in the basket next to the door. He takes a deep breath.

"Haruka, I'm coming in."

"Okay." Not even surprised Sousuke's back, but maybe he's too interested in the bath water that's probably lukewarm by this point. Sousuke steels himself before pulling the little curtain aside and going inside, and as soon as he does, Haru's head plops out of the tub. "Hey", he says, and Sousuke's breath suddenly hitches in his throat.

"Hey", he replies and sits down on the stool next to the tub. "How was your day?"

"Uneventful", Haru says with a shrug and flicks water at the blue toy dolphin at the other end of the tub. "Yours?"

"Pretty much the same."

"Huh." Haru goes silent for a few seconds, and Sousuke notices he's biting on his lower lip. What's up with  _him_? "Wanna join?"

"What?"

"Me. In the tub. Here."

Sousuke unconsciously looks down at the water and is for once actually glad that Haru still has that habit of wearing his swim trunks in the bath, because he's pretty sure he'd get kicked out if Haru found out Sousuke was staring down at his dick. "Oh. Yeah... sure. Is the water still hot?"

"Come find out", is the response Sousuke gets, and he might just be imagining it, but Haru actually sounds like he's  _teasing_ him. With a sigh, Sousuke gets up from the stool and goes to take a shower before joining his boyfriend in that small tub. It isn't like they haven't taken a bath together before — although it's never really about the actual bath when that happens — but this really isn't good timing for taking a bath together. He's really tempted to send a message to Rin ironically thanking him for putting Sousuke in a weird mood all day, but that'd probably just be like pouring gasoline over an already raging fire.

He showers in just a few minutes, and returns to the tub where Haru's sitting with his head tipped back against the edge and his eyes closed. Like this, he really looks like he actually belongs in the water like some sort of water creature, and it honestly wouldn't surprise Sousuke if one day, Haru would've turned into a merman or something like that. All that soaked up water must result in something weird, and if anything, that would actually make sense, in a strange way.

Sousuke climbs in and pulls his legs up, and Haru mirrors his movements without looking up once. The silence that follows is unnerving, and just before Sousuke makes an attempt at conversation, Haru opens his mouth.

"So Rin called me as I was on my way home today."

Having idly drawn his fingers back and forth in the water, Sousuke freezes. "Okay", he says slowly. "What'd he say?"

"He asked if we'd come over to their house for dinner tomorrow. Yes or no?"

It takes Sousuke a few seconds to register Haru's words and following question, but then he sighs quietly in relief. "Oh. Yeah, sure. Did he say who's cooking?"

"Do you think he'd let Makoto cook?"

Sousuke snorts. "Maybe not. Okay, good."

Haru finally sits up properly and eyes Sousuke suspiciously. "Why'd you react like that?"

"Like what?"

"You flinched or something."

He curses himself inwardly for being so goddamn obvious, and tries to keep a straight face. "No reason. Been an off day, that's all."

"Huh."

"Yeah."

 _God_ , he's such a bad liar.

 

* * *

 

"Welcome to our humble abode", Rin says as he opens the door and greets Haruka and Sousuke. Sousuke glares at his friend, hoping he'll take the 'don't-you-dare-say-anything-tonight' hint he's so desperately trying to convey. He hopes that all those years spent with Rin will have had  _some_ success in him being able to do some kind of telepathy magic with the redhead, much like that creepy thing Haruka and Makoto seem to do way too often.

There seems to be an asshole aura around Rin tonight, and Sousuke really doesn't like it. He's on edge as he walks inside to greet Makoto in the living room.

"Hey, Makoto. Thanks for having us over, dinner smells great."

Makoto smiles and goes to give Sousuke a hug, a gesture a little uncommon from him. Sousuke's a hundred per cent sure Makoto knows, but he doesn't say anything. He makes a mental note to get his revenge on Rin soon. "Make yourselves at home. Oh, and I didn't cook — Rin did."

 _And thank god for that_ , Sousuke thinks to himself as he nods in acknowledgement. Haru joins them in the living room, and the three of them converse for a bit before Rin comes back and puts food on the set table. Sousuke has always admired Rin for his cooking skills, but he's never said anything about it. He's tried his best to improve as well, especially now that he lives with Haru who's at least on par with Rin, but it's a slow progress.

Even though there's not a trace of an uncomfortable silence during dinner, there's still some kind of strange air lingering in the room. Sousuke, still being on edge, tries his best to participate in the conversation, but he finds himself sometimes just zoning out. He fears this might be a plan cooked up by Makoto and Rin to try and get the two of them talking about  _it_ , and he doesn't like it. He strongly dislikes it when people butt in on something they have zero business with. What he and Haruka has is strictly between them and no one else.

"Makoto, honey, can you help me in the kitchen?" Rin asks and gets up from the floor. Makoto looks at his boyfriend in confusion.

"'Honey'? Rin, what's—"

"It's fine, just come along, alright?" _There's no mistaking that look on Rin's face_ , Sousuke thinks and discreetly looks at Haruka by his side. Haruka looks as disinterested as always, elbow propped up on the table and his chin resting on his palm and his eyes staring off into nothing.  _Good, he probably has no clue what's going on_.

Makoto gets up as well, and the hosts clean off the table together and go out into the kitchen. Sousuke wants to eavesdrop on their conversation so bad, but it'd be too obvious if he were to get up right after them. Even Haruka would notice, he's sure of it.

"They're acting weird", Haruka says, and Sousuke fidgets with the pant leg of his shorts. "Yeah."

"You know what it's about, don't you?"

"What?" He's got such a bad poker face, it's no use in even trying but he does it anyway. A last effort at keeping his dignity intact. "I have no idea, actually.  You know how those two are."

"I do, but I know how you are, too.  Is it a surprise party? My birthday's already passed."

Sousuke sighs and massages the bridge of his nose with a frown. Why here, of all places? "Alright, I'll talk... when we get home. But don't... freak out on me. This wasn't my idea to begin with."

Now it's Haru's turn to frown, but it's a different kind. "Okay. I mean, I can try, but I can't promise anything if I don't know what's going on."

"Just promise."

Haru rolls his eyes. "Whatever, okay."

It doesn't take long for their hosts to return, and dinner can proceed, although the experience is far from pleasant, with Haru knowing something's up, and Rin shooting Sousuke a hundred glances, each one spelling out a different form of 'I know you didn't talk about it when we gave you the opportunity to, so I demand you do it ASAP'.

Things could've definitely gone a little smoother, that's for sure. If only Sousuke wouldn't have been such an idiot and dealt with it before it came to this, because deep down, he knew Rin would do anything he could to give them a forceful push. He tries telling himself Rin's doing it because he cares about them, and while it's supposed to make him feel better about it, it doesn't.

 

* * *

 

 

When they come back home, Haru doesn't waste a second and continues right where they left off with their talk at Makoto's and Rin's house. "Can we talk  _now_?"

Sousuke sits down by the kotatsu, shortly followed by his boyfriend, and he braces himself for Haru's reaction. "Rin came over the other day. He asked me if... you and I have ever... er, talked about marriage."

Haru's annoyed expression smooths out, and he's wearing his normal, neutral, expression again. "Uh-huh. And?"

"What do you mean 'and'? Is that your first reaction?"

The raven-haired man shrugs and un-crosses his legs under the kotatsu. "I guess. I mean, we haven't, right? And what did he want with that? Does he want us to talk about it?"

"Yeah", Sousuke mumbles and averts his gaze. As he should've probably expected, Haru's almost too direct about it, and doesn't seem at all fazed. "Should we?"

"What, talk about it? I guess. Do you want to get married?"

 _Too_ direct! Sousuke recoils and takes a deep breath. Even if Haru doesn't seem all that bothered by it, that doesn't mean he wants to get married. He's probably one to think that marriage would take his freedom away, and god forbid someone does that to him. Sousuke would beat up the first person to do so, but in this case, that'd mean he'd have to punch himself.

"I guess. Well, one day, I'm not in a rush or anything. I mean, if—if you wanted to, then yeah, sure, but I don't wanna push you. And it's totally fine if you don't—"

"Sousuke", Haruka says, and thankfully shuts up Sousuke's awkward rambling. "You're cute."

"I'm not cute."

"Yes, you are. Is this why you looked so weird the other day? I thought you were sick or something."

He was sick, alright, but maybe not in the traditional way. Lovesick? No, that sounds dumb.

(Although it might just be the right way to describe it.)

"I didn't know how you'd react", Sousuke says, still not meeting Haru's eyes. "So... what do you think of the idea? Dumb, right?"

Neither of them are romantics like Makoto and Rin (though Sousuke doubts anyone could be more of a romantic than Rin), and actions most often speak louder than words between them. They're both men of few words, but maybe that's why they go so great together. Sousuke isn't too sure how he'd cope with dating someone who was his exact opposite. He used to think Haru was, but in recent years, he's been proven wrong so many times, and grown fonder and fonder of the other man the more he's been with him.

So maybe marrying him wouldn't be a bad idea. Well,  _that_ isn't Sousuke's biggest concern. The biggest thing he's scared of is if Haru actually wants to get married at all.

"No, I wouldn't say that", Haru says slowly, as if still contemplating whether he does find it dumb or not. "I guess I just haven't thought about it before. Maybe because I've always just thought that what we already have is good enough, that there's no need to change anything."

And there it is. No need to change anything between them. Well, in truth, there really isn't. Sousuke's happy with the way things are, too. But he also wants to take it that one step further in their relationship. As for why, he has no idea, but he guesses it's deep-rooted views passed down from his parents. Marriage proves that you love someone. A ring on your left ring finger says you're ready to spend the rest of your life with someone. And he is. Haru is everything and more he's ever wanted in a partner, so why not?

... that is, if Haru actually  _shared_ his views on this matter.

"Oh", he says, deflated, and Haruka gets up from the floor. Sousuke thinks he's going to walk out of the living room, but Haru just sits down closer to him instead and bumps their foreheads together.

"I don't think we need to change anything, but being married to you doesn't sound like a dumb idea. And I don't think that it'd be a bad thing, since nothing would really change between us, anyway."

"You think so?"

"Yeah."

"How come?"

Haru sighs and leans back a little. "Because we're not those kinds of people. Neither of us are people who like big change, and we don't change rapidly, either. We're kind of like those fish that just go with the flow down the stream along with everyone else."

Sousuke snorts and smiles a little. "Of course you'd do the fish analogy. I was a fool for expecting something else."

Silence falls again, and Sousuke finds a sliver of bravery within himself before he decides to open his mouth again. "So you're not opposed to getting married?"

"No, not really."

"Okay. To me, just to clarify."

"I know, and again, not really."

"Right, good."

Okay, so maybe that little sliver of bravery lasted shorter than he thought it would. He fidgets, suddenly uncomfortable with Haru still sitting so close to him.  _Man, Haruka's got really long eyelashes—_

Sousuke blinks and shakes the thought away. _Wrong time to notice details like these, Yamazaki_. All of a sudden, he's just taken aback by how beautiful his boyfriend is, even though he's got a confused, slight frown on his face. He wonders what the hell someone like Haruka is doing with someone like him when he could clearly go for someone better. He knows very well why Rin used to have a crush on Haruka, and he's still a little surprised that nothing ever came out of that. _  
_

"Sousuke, is this your convoluted way of asking me to marry you?"

He looks back at Haruka, whose corners of his mouth are twitching. "Don't laugh!" he says instead of answering the question.

"I won't. So?"

Surrendering, Sousuke sighs. "Yeah, I guess. Wait", he says and gets up from the floor. It's all or nothing, really. He pulls Haruka up by his hands, and now they're both standing.

"What are you—"

"I told you to wait", Sousuke says, as he gets down on one knee, holding Haruka's left hand in both of his. "Will you—er, will you marry me?" He almost adds a ' _please'_ at the end and is eternally grateful to his brain for not transmitting that dumb signal through.

Sousuke watches Haruka's face carefully, and he notices that the black-haired man's cheeks are starting to go through different shades of pink. He bites his lower lip, which is actually quivering, and Sousuke wonders if he might've gone too far, after all, that Haru was just going with the flow, as he said earlier. Feeling panic creep up on him, he quickly opens his mouth again.

"Wait, shit, I didn't— I didn't mean to upset you, I told you it's fine if we don't! I was just—"

"I do", Haruka says and actually  _sniffles_. He's not crying, or at least there are no tears. Sousuke clears his throat and looks down at Haruka's hand.

"Oh", he replies. "Well. I... wow. Man, are we getting married?"

"Stupid, why else would you ask?"

"I don't know! Okay, so... we're getting... married. Wow. Also, I don't have a ring. I'm piss poor right now, and I... well, I wasn't really planning on doing this today. But we can get you one soon."

Haruka laughs, hiccups and shakes his head. "It's fine, I don't need one."

"Oh yes, you do. How else are people gonna know you belong to someone?"

"Is that what this is about?"

"Of course it is, idiot. Well, the ring isn't, but... the whole marriage thing is."

Haru rolls his eyes. "I know. Okay, if it's that important to you. All I really care about is being with you. Even though you can be dense and dumb sometimes."

"Jeez, thanks for that", Sousuke grumbles, and Haru pulls him up from the floor again. Standing on his toes, Haru places one hand on the back of Sousuke's head and tips it down to let their lips meet in a kiss. Sousuke quickly melts into it and lifts his boyfriend up, still not letting their lips separate. His heart is still hammering in his chest and threatening to break a rib or two, but this time, he doesn't mind it. It's a good kind of heart-throb for once.

"Sousuke."

"Yeah."

"I love you."

He exhales through his nose and closes his eyes with a smile. "Yeah. I love you, too."

"I can't believe we're getting married."

"Me neither."

 

* * *

 

 

 **You** :  _[IMG0072.jpg]_

He barely has time to put his phone down before it rings. And he doesn't have to guess who's calling, since he just sent a picture message to the biggest romantic in Iwatobi.

"Yeah", he says as he picks up the call, and he isn't even surprised that he's greeted by a crying voice.

" _Sou... I'm so happy for you. I'm so proud—_ "

" _Rin, put him on speaker phone — I want to talk to him, too. Also, wipe the snot from your face._ "

Sousuke rolls his eyes. "Gross."

" _Ah, Sousuke? Hi, I hope you don't mind being on speaker phone_." This time, he can hear Makoto clearer, and he still hears Rin sobbing in the background.

"I don't. Hey, Makoto."

" _Hi. Congrats on the engagement, I'm really happy for you guys._ "

He tries to resist a smile, but it's a futile effort. "Thanks."

" _How does it feel to be engaged?_ "

"I don't know, it's not that much different from before, I guess. Except for the fact that we know we're engaged and we're getting married sometime in the future."

Makoto laughs. " _Yeah, I kind of expected that out of you two. Well, as long as you guys are happy, we are, too_."

"What are you, my parents?"

" _As good as_ ", Rin says, seemingly having calmed down a bit. Haruka joins Sousuke in the living room, throwing him a questioning look. Sousuke puts his phone down on the kotatsu table and puts the love birds on speaker as well. " _I never actually expected you to do it_."

"Then why the fuck would you be so on my ass about it?" Sousuke snaps, and Haru snorts.

" _Is Haru there? Hey, Haru — how does it feel?_ "

Haru looks at Sousuke and raises an eyebrow, something Sousuke finds scarily attractive for some strange reason. "It feels just like any other day with this big, dumb bear."

"Bear?" Sousuke says. "Also, what's that supposed to mean?"

"You're like a big, dumb bear, but you're cute—"

"I'm not cute!"

"—and every day with you is a good day."

" _Aww_ ", both Rin and Makoto say in unison, and Sousuke flushes red. Mortification creeps up on him, and he picks up the phone from the table again.

"So there you have it. Interview's over. Talk to you guys soon."

" _Wait—_ "

But he doesn't. Sousuke hangs up, and after he puts his phone back down, he practically lurches himself at Haruka, and they both land on the floor. Haruka blinks up at him in confusion and mild irritation, and he furrows his eyebrows. Sousuke smiles, and leans down to kiss his fiancé.

"If I'm a big, dumb bear, then you're a tiny, cute dolphin."

"Like the one in the tub? Why dolphin, though?"

"Because you're practically married to water."

Haru hums whilst reaching up to run his fingers through Sousuke's hair. "I guess that's bad. I think I need to get a divorce, because I can't be married to two people at the same time. Also, I'm not tiny."

"Water isn't a person no matter how much you want it to be, Haruka", Sousuke counters and ignores Haru's comment about not being tiny. Because he kind of is.

" _Entities_."

"Fine."

"Good. You big, dumb, _cute_  bear."

"Stop saying that!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (wipes tear) Souharu wedding? Souharu wedding! (Maybe a future fic drabble?)
> 
> —
> 
> [popnographic](http://popnographic.tk/) on Tumblr!


	6. Of course I do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Hey, Rin... do you think Haruka's nervous?"
> 
> Rin turns to face Sousuke with an incredulous look. "What? I have no idea, I can't read that weird guy. I could text Makoto and find out, though. Do you want me to?"
> 
> He does. Sousuke's so curious he feels like a child opening his gifts before he's really supposed to. He hasn't seen Haru since the night before, due to Makoto wanting to keep the stupid tradition of them not being allowed to see each other before the wedding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These drabbles weren't supposed to be connected... but I have to make an exception. Just this once. Yes, this is a continuation to chapter 5. You wanted it (I wanted it too, I admit), so here it is. Souharu wedding! [crowd cheers]

Haruka glares down at the envelopes in front of him, and Sousuke doesn't have to ask what's going on in his fiancé's head, because he's more than aware. They're currently deciding on whom to invite to their wedding, and there's one left unlabelled. They'd been talking about whether or not to invite Haruka's parents for quite some time, and while Sousuke has kept insisting that Haru should let them come, the other had been of a different opinion.

"Why should I?"

"Why  _not_? They're your parents."

"Did they ever act like it? I didn't see them at my graduation, they only came to watch one of our races and then immediately left again. They only come back home every once in a while, and they don't even seem like they're sorry they left their son home alone for all those years. Besides, I don't think they'd come even if I did invite them. They don't have time for me, and I don't want them to be there."

Sousuke sighs and takes Haruka's hand in his. He can't stop staring at the silver ring adorning his lover's finger, and whenever he looks at it, he feels an immense pride over the fact that Haru is his, and no one else's. "Alright, fine — I won't push it. I just think it's a shame, because it's a once in a lifetime thing."

Haruka looks up at him and raises an eyebrow. "Who says I'm gonna stick with you for my entire life?"

"Are you saying you _won't_?" Sousuke asks back and glares daggers at the raven-haired man in front of him.

"No", Haruka says and smirks. "I just wanted to make fun of you. It's cute when you have that kind of confidence."

"You little shit."

"I'm three months older than you, so technically, _you're_ the 'little shit'."

Sousuke sighs exasperatedly, reaches across the table and flicks his fiancé on the forehead. "Shut up."

 

* * *

 

"Sou,  _please_ stand still. I already suck at tying these stupid bow-ties, you don't need to make things worse."

Sousuke frowns. "Can't help it."

"Are you nervous?"

Of course he is. And it isn't like he's got cold feet or anything, it's just the thought that nearly all of their friends and Sousuke's family will be watching them as they promise to love each other for as long as they both shall live. He's not too big on public displays of affection, and if anything  _is_ PDA, then this is definitely it. Declaring your love to your soon-to-be-husband in front of pretty much everyone he knows... he doesn't understand how other people can do it so easily, while he hasn't even walked up to the altar yet.

"I guess so", Sousuke replies and tries to sound indifferent. For what reason, he's not sure, because he already knows Rin can see straight through him.

Rin finishes and takes a step back, a hint of pride in his eyes. "If I wasn't already married, I'd totally ask you to ditch Haru and marry me."

"Dude, that's gross. We're technically brothers by this point."

"Brothers-in-law soon, too. Yeah, I guess you're right. At least Haru's gonna be all over you, and I guess that's all that matters."

"Jeez, you really know how to be too much, don't you?"

The redhead laughs and punches his best friend lightly in the chest. "I'm happy for you, Sou. And Haru. Both of you, really. I still can't believe the two of  _you_ ended up together."

Sousuke frowns. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, come on, you know what I mean. You used to hate Haru with a burning passion, and you never got along. All of a sudden, you're actually  _hanging out_ and now you're getting married. You have to agree that it's a really weird series of events just having happened in, what, less than two years?"

The taller man turns around to the mirror again with a frown in an effort to make sure Rin doesn't see the blush blossoming in his cheeks. He looks down at his black suit, wondering if that's a crinkle and if he should take his jacket off and iron it. No, he's probably just being paranoid. Where would he even get a hold of an iron around here? He sighs and closes his eyes with a frown.

"You're one to talk. You used to treat Makoto like shit, and now you're married to him."

"Hey, that's _different_. I talked and apologised to him, and we've been friends since we were kids."

Their history  _is_  weird, but Sousuke actually kind of likes it being weird and not normal like others. It makes for a more interesting talk than most other couples probably have to offer when it comes to how they met and ended up together.

Sousuke snorts and turns around again to go and sit down next to Rin on the couch. They still have another five minutes until they have to get out there, before Sousuke's going out to marry Haru. His heart races in his chest whenever his mind drifts off to it, and he wonders if his fiancé feels the same. Maybe not — Haru's usually not one to care for emotional things, so he's probably as calm as ever. Haru has his moments where his limits are reached, and Sousuke's seen it happen more than once. But in this instance, he's pretty sure Haru would just shrug and say that he's just getting married to the one he loves, and that there's no need for him to be anxious about that.

"Hey, Rin... do you think Haruka's nervous?"

Rin turns to face Sousuke with an incredulous look. "What? I have no idea, I can't read that weird guy. I could text Makoto and find out, though. Do you want me to?"

He does. Sousuke's so curious he feels like a child opening his gifts before he's really supposed to. He hasn't seen Haru since the night before, due to Makoto wanting to keep the stupid tradition of them not being allowed to see each other before the wedding. In a way, he just wants time to go faster so he can see his soon-to-be husband again, and so they can leave this god awful place. But on the other hand, he doesn't mind if the ceremony gets postponed just a  _little_ longer.

"Sure, whatever", he replies, and Rin laughs.

"You're cute when you're trying to hide your curiosity behind indifference."

"I'm not curious! And I'm not cute, either."

Why do people keep calling him _cute_ all of a sudden? First Haru, and now Rin. He really hopes it doesn't go further than that, because hearing Makoto call him cute would make him want to jump out a three-story window. And Nagisa would just be... bizarre. He knows at least Ryuugazaki will be sensible enough to not say such a thing, and that's a slight comfort.

"Whatever,  _Sou-chan_." Rin picks his phone out of his pocket as Sousuke slaps him on the back of the head, but he can't help but grin. He's so glad Rin is there to calm him down and support him right now. Anyone else and he'd probably elope, he's sure of it. Again, not because he doesn't want to marry Haru, but because of everyone else out there witnessing the event.

A minute passes, and then Rin's phone vibrates again. He grins widely. "Apparently Haru's been walking back and forth in their room for a while, and he keeps fidgeting with stuff. Much like you, then. Makoto says there's no way he's  _not_ nervous. So there you go, you're in the same boat. Now go out there and marry your man. You have each other, and that's all that should matter."

Sousuke sighs and gets up. He actually feels a little better about it knowing that Haru's feeling the distress as well, and now he's pretty much ready to get out there. Even if people are watching them, so what? Sousuke's there to marry Haruka and no one else. They've had a rough, but thankfully not too long, road leading them to where they are now, and all Sousuke wants right now is for them to finally settle down.

"Right, let's do this", he says, and Rin's smile reaches his ears.

 

* * *

 

And of  _course_ Rin would start sobbing and sniffling even before the whole ceremony's even started. Makoto's standing by his side, their arms linked, and he shoots Sousuke an apologetic smile.  _Idiot, you're not the one who's supposed to apologise_ , he thinks to himself. He's far too nervous to even cast glances at Haruka by his side, because he looks so beautiful Sousuke's afraid he's going to pass out before the priest starts rambling.

Haruka has a white tuxedo and a dark blue bow tie that matches his eyes perfectly. It's a nice contrast to his black hair, while Sousuke just looks ordinary. At least to himself, but Rin kept telling him he looked nice. He tries to keep his eyes straight on the priest in front of them, tries to listen to what's being said, but he keeps wanting to turn around and look at the people sitting behind them, just to see if he can spot someone grinning spitefully or something.

As neither of them is a bride, they both met at the doors and walked down the aisle together. A few days earlier, Sousuke had jokingly made the suggestion that since Haru was the shorter and physically smaller male, he should've been the bride — but it had been met with a slap in the back of the head by Rin, a headshake from Makoto and a death glare from Haruka. He actually preferred the way it turned out, since he's not sure he'd be able to either stand in the front and wait for Haruka, or for him to walk down there and meet his future husband.

Being as nervous as he is, and also completely, ridiculously, disgustingly lovestruck by his fiancé standing next to him, Sousuke ends up zoning out for most of the priest's speech, even though he's sort of looking at the guy whilst he's babbling about. Sousuke already knows what it's about anyway; the whole thing about them loving each other until death do them apart, how marriage is a holy union between two people and all that stuff.

"... take Nanase Haruka to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

"Of course I do", Sousuke blurts out in half nervousness, half irritation, and a few giggles are heard from the seats behind them. He clears his throat and starts over. "Sorry. Yes, I do."

The priest chuckles lightly, and a little smile quickly ghosts across Haru's face. Haru, however, just squeezes both of his hands reassuringly between his own, and Sousuke couldn't be more grateful that Haru isn't in a mock-Sousuke-type of mood right now. 

"Do you, Nanase Haruka, take Yamazaki Sousuke to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

Haruka smiles and it reaches his eyes, those dark-blue, beautiful eyes of his light up with a sense of joy and affection that up until now, only Sousuke has seen before. His breath hitches in his throat, and he fights the urge to look away. He wants to look away because the man in front of him is the very definition of a thousand suns shining down on him, making him want to squint because it's so bright. But he also doesn't want to look away, because this moment is so meaningful and so loaded with emotion seldom shown from either of them, and if he's not being careful, the moment's going to slip through his fingers and disappear.

So Sousuke looks Haruka in the eyes as Haruka says yes, and when they're told they may now kiss, Sousuke doesn't waste a second. He pulls Haruka close, lets go of his hands and cups his hands on his husband's cheeks before leaning in for their first kiss as married. He hears people applause behind them, but it sounds so distant that they could just as well be somewhere else, applauding some other couple who just got married.

When they separate, Sousuke can't help but smile, his nervousness finally having disappeared. "You're so beautiful you made me nervous, Nanase. That's a first for you."

Haruka laughs and bumps their foreheads together softly. "It's _Yamazaki_ now, idiot."

"Oh yeah, forgot."

As his hearing is now restored, Sousuke can hear Rin _still_ crying and sobbing beside them as they turn to face their friends and family.

 

* * *

 

The reception party lasts until the late hours of the night, and while they did dance the first dance, Sousuke and Haruka both end up sitting down and watch the others dance for the most part. Sousuke dances with Gou and Nagisa's far too flirty sister at some point, but even that's a little too much for him to handle. He's perfectly content with sitting on the sides and watching his friends and family enjoy themselves, even though it is his wedding party.

A finger pokes in his side, and he winces before he looks to his side to see Haruka look at him. "Did you say something?"

"No", Haru replies, but he has that little smile on his face that Sousuke's seen so many times, and an undeniable glint of mischief in his eyes that makes Sousuke's heart race. "Just wanted to know if you wanted to escape with me. I'm getting tired of people, I don't do well with crowds."

Sousuke looks at the people around him, and he's pretty sure they wouldn't notice them leaving early. So with a short nod, he and Haruka sneak their way out of the building and walk the short walk over to their hotel. It's cool outside, and definitely nice considering the fact that they've been inside wearing their suit jackets the entire wedding ceremony and the party following it. Sousuke only now takes his off and carries it under his arm, and he sighs in relief.

"No offence, but I'm really glad that's over", he says. Haruka laughs a little.

"I didn't want to say anything because I thought you'd take it the wrong way, but I feel the same way. It's too stiff."

"I know, right? Now I know why people say getting married is a once in a lifetime experience... I definitely don't wanna have to go through that stress and nervousness again. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we're married, but everything around it was just—"

"—too much?"

Sousuke huffs a laugh and grabs Haruka's hand with his free hand. "Yeah."

It takes them all the energy and self discipline to not completely devour each other in the lift on the way up to their hotel room, but they somehow manage to cope. Sousuke has trouble with just inserting the card key into the slot on their door, but when he succeeds and they're both safely inside the room, all of their previous inhibitions are forgotten.

Sousuke lifts his husband up and carries him inside before laying him down on the bed. It's so big Sousuke isn't worried they'll fall out, and he's glad they'll get the extra space to sleep in tonight. The bed they share at home isn't as big, and since Haruka tends to scoot over to Sousuke's side and cling to him like a koala, he usually doesn't get a lot of moving room.

Looking down at Haru, Sousuke smiles as he brushes away a strand of hair over Haru's eye. "I love you."

Haruka rolls his eyes, but he smiles, too. "You've said that a few times today already."

"I know, but not like this. When it's just you and me. I prefer it like this."

"Yeah... me too."

Making sure to take it slow, Sousuke runs his hands down Haruka's bare skin after he's undressed his upper half. His fingertips softly grace the muscles that are still pretty much like they used to be when they were still swimming regularly. He prides himself in being the bigger of the two, and Haruka's said before that he prefers it that way, too, because he felt like it would be odd for him to date someone smaller than him. Sousuke almost blurted out that it would be difficult for Haru to find someone smaller than him — but thankfully, he managed to keep it to himself. He's pretty sure he wouldn't be allowed to sleep in the bed that night if he hadn't.

His lips coast along Haru's body as he makes his way further down. Nimble, long fingers unbutton his lover's trousers, and he taps on Haru's thigh to signal for him to lift himself up a little in order to make it easier to take said trousers off. He lets his lips travel over Haru's growing erection still trapped within the fabric, and he gently sucks on the tip, leaving wet marks and eliciting dragged out moans from Haru.

He hooks two fingers on the rim and slowly pulls Haru's underwear down. Sousuke loves seeing Haru this impatient, he loves listening to the sounds coming from the back of his lover's throat as Haru's being too stubborn to say out loud what he wants. Maybe even a little embarrassed, too — at least that's what Sousuke wants to believe — but that isn't something Haru would admit to even if his life depended on it.

When Sousuke finally takes Haru in, the shorter male lets out a moan that lets Sousuke know that he's been waiting pretty much all day for this. Even so, he still takes his time and sucks Haru down slowly, pausing every now and then only to swallow his saliva and the pre-cum leaking from Haru's slit. When he pauses to take his mouth off of Haruka's cock, the shorter male sits up slightly.

"Why'd you stop?"

Sousuke grins. "Wait a sec."

He reaches over the bed into the bag he'd haphazardly thrown there when they'd first arrived in the hotel room earlier that day, and after some rummaging about, he finds the little bottle of lube and a condom packet that he places next to himself on the bed. Pouring only a small amount of lube onto two of his fingers, he gets right back to business, and Haru slumps down again.

"Oh."

"Mhmm."

Haru flinches, and for a second, Sousuke wonders if he'd somehow hurt his husband. Once again, his lips leave Haru's cock, and he supports himself with his elbows down on the mattress. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No", Haru replies breathily with an accompanied shake of his head. "Your voice was... so low that it vibrated... and it felt nice."

Sousuke leans back and raises his eyebrows. "Oh. So that was okay?"

"Yeah."

"Can I continue?"

"Yes. _Please_."

The added 'please' sends a jolt straight down to Sousuke's cock, and he almost lurches himself at Haru's again. His husband throws his head back and lets out a breathless moan, and it only does so much to stop Sousuke from almost touching himself at this point. He's so agitated and needs release soon, but he knows he has to be patient. This is a night he wants both of them to be able to remember for being one of the best nights they've shared together, so he has to make sure it lasts, too.

Fingers twist in his hair, and he closes his eyes as he starts speeding up his movements. While his mouth works on Haru's cock, his right index and middle fingers are ever so slowly stretching out Haru's entrance. He almost feels selfish, because his mind is set on making Haru come as soon as possible so he can climax soon, too.

It doesn't take very long for Haru to come, and while he comes down from his post-orgasm high, Sousuke goes into the bathroom to wash his mouth. When he comes back, Haru still lies on his back, and he's staring up at the ceiling.

"That good, huh?" Sousuke asks, unable to keep the gloating tone out of his voice. Haru gives him a dirty look and snorts.

"Don't flatter yourself, Yamazaki."

He crawls on top of the bed again and disrupts whatever it is Haru's doing by capturing his lips in a kiss. When they separate, he's still smiling. "I don't need to flatter myself when you're doing that so well for me already,  _Yamazaki_."

Haru's eyes widen, and he turns to the side. The pout and frown tells Sousuke that his husband is embarrassed, and he laughs. "Payback."

 

* * *

 

Sousuke turns to his side. The room has gone dark and completely silent, save for Haru's breathing next to him. He watches the raven-haired man's chest heave up and down, and it somehow makes him sleepier. Haru opens his eyes, and let them meet Sousuke's. "What?"

He shakes his head and smiles. "Nothing."

"Right."

"We should probably go clean up before we fall asleep. I don't wanna sleep like this or I'm gonna feel gross tomorrow."

Haru snorts. "Think about me, then. I had to have that oily thing up my—"

"Right, okay — I get it. So, let's go."

With a little effort, Sousuke gets up from the bed and stands by Haru's side to help him get up. His husband stares at his hand as if it's suddenly turned an unnatural colour or if he'd just reached out his foot instead. "What, together?"

"Yes? What, you're feeling shy all of a sudden?"

"As if."

"Just thought you might need help to get up after that awesome sex-session."

"Didn't I already tell you  _not_ to flatter yourself?"

 

* * *

 

A lazy shower and ten minutes later, they're back in bed under the covers. Sousuke doesn't have to wait long for Haruka to scoot closer and lean his head against his left shoulder. Haru's always slept on his left side, refusing to lean on Sousuke's right shoulder, even though it's pretty much healed and fully functioning by this point. Sousuke, however, doesn't argue against Haruka and lets him do as he wishes.

He buries his nose into Haru's still wet hair, taking in the scent of the hotel's surprisingly nice shampoo.

"Sousuke."

"Yeah."

He listens to the soft hum of the city life outside their window; the town of Iwatobi doesn't seem intent on sleeping anytime soon. He's had the best day of his life, and in a way, it's sad that it's going to end the second he falls asleep. Hopefully, he'll have nice dreams relating to it, extending it ever so slightly. A year ago, he wouldn't have imagined himself being married. Two years ago, he would've snorted and probably laughed as well, if someone told him he'd one day marry Nanase Haruka.

But things had for once been going well for Sousuke, and he's grateful things turned out this way. He's proud to call himself the husband of Yamazaki Haruka, and even if this particular scene would've never made sense to him two years ago, it certainly does now, and he wouldn't change it for anything else in the world. Everything that has led him up to this point — the good  _and_ bad things — still led him to Haruka. And that's all that matters, in the end.

"I love you, too."

He smiles, but the darkness masks it and makes it impossible for his significant other to see it. "I know."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A few notes about this chapter (and another thing)** :
> 
> I'm so glad Western style wedding ceremonies have become somewhat of a norm in Japan, because _man_... writing a Japanese traditional wedding ceremony would be both difficult and less interesting. Sorry, Japan, no offence.
> 
> Also, as far as their wedding tuxes go, I chose to have Sousuke wear black and Haru white because it's the opposite colours of what their high school uniforms used to be; Samezuka had white and Iwatobi black. Yeah, I'm a sap and I know it.
> 
> Third note: there's a voice actress named Yamazaki Haruka. Isn't that cute. I think it sounds a lot better than Nanase Sousuke, but hey—to each their own, I guess.
> 
> And one last thing: I don't think I'm going to update this particular fic with any more chapters, as I'm currently planning out a new Souharu fic. And while it's still in it's early stages, I don't have a link to it _yet_. I'll post about it on my Tumblr whenever I do decide to release it, and if I remember, I'll try to post an update about it here as well, in case there's anyone subscribed who would be interested.
> 
> Thank you so much for the comments and kudos on these chapters, I really didn't expect the kind of feedback I got and I'm super humbled. You guys are amazing. Thank you for reading, and I hope to have you guys aboard for future fics. <3
> 
> —
> 
> [popnographic](http://popnographic.tk/) on Tumblr!


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